1 00:00:00,240 --> 00:00:27,440 Speaker 1: Ridiculous History is a production of I Heart Radio. Welcome 2 00:00:27,440 --> 00:00:30,640 Speaker 1: back to the show Ridiculous Historians. Thank you, as always 3 00:00:30,680 --> 00:00:33,520 Speaker 1: so much for tuning in. That's our one and only 4 00:00:33,600 --> 00:00:39,720 Speaker 1: super producer, Mr Max Williams. Can we get some regal music? Max? 5 00:00:42,159 --> 00:00:45,559 Speaker 1: Thank you? They called me Ben Noel. You and I 6 00:00:45,600 --> 00:00:49,120 Speaker 1: are both big fans of the Sandman comics. Remember those? 7 00:00:49,640 --> 00:00:52,120 Speaker 1: Oh my god, are you getting so funny? I tried 8 00:00:52,159 --> 00:00:54,120 Speaker 1: to give my thirteen year old daughter to read the 9 00:00:54,200 --> 00:00:57,240 Speaker 1: first volume of it. She's been getting into comics lately, 10 00:00:57,320 --> 00:01:00,040 Speaker 1: and she came back to me and said, Dad, I 11 00:01:00,400 --> 00:01:01,960 Speaker 1: think I like it, but there's just a little too 12 00:01:02,040 --> 00:01:04,440 Speaker 1: much going on. And then she used a golden excuse, 13 00:01:04,600 --> 00:01:06,160 Speaker 1: but she would never use unless it was something she 14 00:01:06,200 --> 00:01:08,120 Speaker 1: just didn't want to finish reading. I think it might 15 00:01:08,120 --> 00:01:13,360 Speaker 1: be above my reading level. Oh nice, clever, clever Eden. 16 00:01:13,920 --> 00:01:17,720 Speaker 1: People recognize Eden from an earlier episode of the show. 17 00:01:17,840 --> 00:01:20,680 Speaker 1: Do check it out. We asked for this regal music, 18 00:01:20,720 --> 00:01:24,000 Speaker 1: and we're talking about Sandman because I don't know about you, 19 00:01:24,080 --> 00:01:29,520 Speaker 1: but I learned about this person first through the excellent 20 00:01:30,480 --> 00:01:34,160 Speaker 1: Sandman graphic novels of the stories by Neil Gaiman uh 21 00:01:34,200 --> 00:01:37,920 Speaker 1: now being adapted. I believe into a streaming series. Where 22 00:01:37,920 --> 00:01:42,000 Speaker 1: are they going on with? Yeah, it's on Netflix, um 23 00:01:42,080 --> 00:01:44,959 Speaker 1: and friend of the show and the network. John Cameron 24 00:01:45,000 --> 00:01:48,560 Speaker 1: Mitchell is playing a really cool character from the Dolls 25 00:01:48,600 --> 00:01:53,840 Speaker 1: House run of the comics. Um how the landlord in 26 00:01:53,960 --> 00:01:58,120 Speaker 1: the apartment building that that series is based him? And 27 00:01:58,840 --> 00:02:04,760 Speaker 1: without spoiling the excellent, excellent Sandman series too much, there 28 00:02:04,800 --> 00:02:10,560 Speaker 1: are a lot of real life historical figures that feature 29 00:02:10,919 --> 00:02:14,040 Speaker 1: in some part of the story, often his cameos. William 30 00:02:14,120 --> 00:02:18,840 Speaker 1: Shakespeare shows up, for instance, and so does a fellow 31 00:02:19,120 --> 00:02:27,440 Speaker 1: named Joshua Norton. I'm so excited to explore this guy today. 32 00:02:27,480 --> 00:02:32,720 Speaker 1: So Joshua Norton, the name sounds maybe a little oh, 33 00:02:32,880 --> 00:02:36,280 Speaker 1: I don't know. It's not super extraordinary, you know. It's 34 00:02:36,280 --> 00:02:40,320 Speaker 1: not one of those unique names like Winker, Black, Fingerstein 35 00:02:40,800 --> 00:02:44,160 Speaker 1: or something. I just made that up. But but there 36 00:02:44,240 --> 00:02:48,120 Speaker 1: there is. There are multiple josh Norton's probably alive now, uh. 37 00:02:48,240 --> 00:02:51,520 Speaker 1: And there were multiple josh Norton's alive throughout history. But 38 00:02:51,880 --> 00:02:58,359 Speaker 1: this Joshua Norton. Some called him insane, some called him homeless, 39 00:02:58,440 --> 00:03:01,400 Speaker 1: and some called him emperor. How about that for an intro? 40 00:03:01,760 --> 00:03:03,960 Speaker 1: But just don't call him during dinner. Am I right? 41 00:03:08,360 --> 00:03:10,720 Speaker 1: Then I gotta follow up really quickly, and maybe this 42 00:03:10,800 --> 00:03:14,120 Speaker 1: is a good way in I do not recall Joshua 43 00:03:14,240 --> 00:03:17,000 Speaker 1: Norton's part in the Sandman comics. Can you give us 44 00:03:17,000 --> 00:03:20,160 Speaker 1: a little background as to how he slots in there? Yeah? 45 00:03:20,240 --> 00:03:23,960 Speaker 1: Absolutely so. If you check out the Salman series, you 46 00:03:24,000 --> 00:03:30,720 Speaker 1: will see that Norton appears in a story about a 47 00:03:30,800 --> 00:03:36,960 Speaker 1: wager between desire and despair, who are two members of 48 00:03:37,000 --> 00:03:42,000 Speaker 1: the godlike entity uh or godlike family called the Endless. 49 00:03:42,560 --> 00:03:46,920 Speaker 1: Main character of the Salmon is Dream. So Joshua Norton's 50 00:03:46,960 --> 00:03:51,360 Speaker 1: real life is explained in the story in the context 51 00:03:51,680 --> 00:03:56,320 Speaker 1: of this bet between the force of desire and the 52 00:03:56,480 --> 00:04:00,600 Speaker 1: force of despair. And really, what's beautiful about the way 53 00:04:00,800 --> 00:04:03,839 Speaker 1: Neil I'm just gonna call Neil writes it is that 54 00:04:03,960 --> 00:04:08,640 Speaker 1: it's so seamlessly incorporates the actual life of this genuine person, 55 00:04:09,280 --> 00:04:15,000 Speaker 1: the real josh Wood Norton was. He became famous in 56 00:04:15,040 --> 00:04:17,320 Speaker 1: the US, but he was actually born in Britain in 57 00:04:17,960 --> 00:04:21,599 Speaker 1: twenty is raised in South Africa, and he immigrated to 58 00:04:21,760 --> 00:04:25,320 Speaker 1: the US during the California Gold Rush. This is a 59 00:04:25,400 --> 00:04:31,760 Speaker 1: story of fortunes built, fortunes lost, and in a very 60 00:04:31,800 --> 00:04:36,599 Speaker 1: strange way, maybe a bit of nobility found he wasn't 61 00:04:36,640 --> 00:04:41,960 Speaker 1: always known as Norton One, Emperor of the United States. No, 62 00:04:42,120 --> 00:04:44,039 Speaker 1: it's funny and just I am in the midst of 63 00:04:44,080 --> 00:04:47,000 Speaker 1: rereading the Sandman series not to be too Sandman heavy 64 00:04:47,040 --> 00:04:48,279 Speaker 1: on this, but I'm really glad you brought it up, 65 00:04:48,279 --> 00:04:49,880 Speaker 1: because it's very top of mind for me right now. 66 00:04:49,920 --> 00:04:54,080 Speaker 1: There's another story that involves another wager between dream and 67 00:04:54,440 --> 00:04:59,920 Speaker 1: um death about a man named Hobb Gadling who swear 68 00:05:00,080 --> 00:05:02,919 Speaker 1: is off the idea of death, and you get to 69 00:05:03,000 --> 00:05:06,400 Speaker 1: see how that kind of plays out as Morpheus or 70 00:05:06,600 --> 00:05:10,040 Speaker 1: Dream or the Sandman goes back to visit him every 71 00:05:10,080 --> 00:05:13,039 Speaker 1: one hundred years in the same pub and you get 72 00:05:13,080 --> 00:05:15,520 Speaker 1: to see the life cycle of this character as he 73 00:05:15,880 --> 00:05:19,600 Speaker 1: experiences the height of fortune that eternal life might offer 74 00:05:19,839 --> 00:05:23,400 Speaker 1: and then all of the desperate low's that the boredom 75 00:05:23,480 --> 00:05:26,880 Speaker 1: and malaise of living forever might also offer. So there's 76 00:05:26,880 --> 00:05:28,880 Speaker 1: some interesting parallels there, and I'm really excited to get 77 00:05:28,920 --> 00:05:31,800 Speaker 1: to the part of the book that involves our character, 78 00:05:32,000 --> 00:05:35,480 Speaker 1: who essentially, you say, some called him crazy, some called 79 00:05:35,520 --> 00:05:38,800 Speaker 1: him homeless, he and others called him Emperor of the 80 00:05:38,920 --> 00:05:43,120 Speaker 1: United States. Yes, that's correct, but this was not always 81 00:05:43,120 --> 00:05:45,440 Speaker 1: the case. As you say, he was born in Britain, 82 00:05:45,640 --> 00:05:49,400 Speaker 1: I said eighteen twenty, but I believe there's some discrepancy. 83 00:05:49,520 --> 00:05:52,640 Speaker 1: May have an eighteen nineteen or eighteen twenty. Before he 84 00:05:52,680 --> 00:05:56,880 Speaker 1: was emperor, he was playing old Joshua Abraham Norton. He 85 00:05:57,000 --> 00:06:02,080 Speaker 1: was born into a family of regular merch no nobility. 86 00:06:02,120 --> 00:06:05,320 Speaker 1: As we said, he spent most of his youth in 87 00:06:05,520 --> 00:06:08,719 Speaker 1: South Africa, and his parents were people of the Jewish faith. 88 00:06:08,800 --> 00:06:13,159 Speaker 1: They had left England to move to South Africa as 89 00:06:13,279 --> 00:06:17,840 Speaker 1: part of a colonization scheme on the part of the government, 90 00:06:18,120 --> 00:06:20,719 Speaker 1: and they were They were members of a group that 91 00:06:21,480 --> 00:06:25,440 Speaker 1: we now call the eighteen twenty settlers, and his his 92 00:06:25,560 --> 00:06:30,479 Speaker 1: father worked there selling supplies for ships. You know, I 93 00:06:30,480 --> 00:06:34,520 Speaker 1: said earlier, there's some debate and discrepancy around his exact 94 00:06:34,680 --> 00:06:37,880 Speaker 1: date of birth. I think for the rest of this episode, 95 00:06:38,000 --> 00:06:43,960 Speaker 1: let's go with February four, eighteen eighteen, because that is 96 00:06:44,760 --> 00:06:48,360 Speaker 1: that that is how San Francisco determines the celebration of 97 00:06:48,440 --> 00:06:53,200 Speaker 1: his birthday, and San Francisco, by the way, celebrates his birthday. 98 00:06:53,240 --> 00:06:57,039 Speaker 1: But how how did he get from South Africa to 99 00:06:57,560 --> 00:06:59,800 Speaker 1: the U S Well, like you said, I mean his family, 100 00:07:00,440 --> 00:07:04,599 Speaker 1: they weren't necessarily the wealthiest of of folks, or at 101 00:07:04,640 --> 00:07:07,800 Speaker 1: least his direct parents, but he did end up getting 102 00:07:07,839 --> 00:07:12,600 Speaker 1: a pretty nice inheritance of some of forty dollars at 103 00:07:12,600 --> 00:07:14,760 Speaker 1: the time, which today would be worth around a million 104 00:07:14,920 --> 00:07:17,600 Speaker 1: dollars or a little over a million dollars. He used 105 00:07:17,640 --> 00:07:20,560 Speaker 1: that to go and make a run at the gold 106 00:07:20,640 --> 00:07:23,760 Speaker 1: rush that was happening in California in eighteen forty nine. 107 00:07:24,160 --> 00:07:27,080 Speaker 1: So he went to San Francisco, which at the time 108 00:07:27,840 --> 00:07:31,120 Speaker 1: you hear him talk about San Francisco in Deadwood a lot. Uh. 109 00:07:31,160 --> 00:07:33,120 Speaker 1: This is the same time period of the show Dead 110 00:07:33,120 --> 00:07:35,160 Speaker 1: One on HBO, which is fantastic if you haven't seen, 111 00:07:35,200 --> 00:07:37,000 Speaker 1: it does a really good job of kind of summing 112 00:07:37,080 --> 00:07:42,360 Speaker 1: up this period. Very lawless time, lots of crime, very 113 00:07:42,400 --> 00:07:45,440 Speaker 1: little oversight in terms of like codified rule of law, 114 00:07:45,760 --> 00:07:48,280 Speaker 1: and even in terms of like law enforcements. As we 115 00:07:48,280 --> 00:07:51,120 Speaker 1: know in Deadwood there's really just a sheriff and then 116 00:07:51,360 --> 00:07:53,760 Speaker 1: you know he kind of takes that role reluctantly and 117 00:07:53,840 --> 00:07:56,360 Speaker 1: it takes quite a lot to get people to answer 118 00:07:56,400 --> 00:07:59,520 Speaker 1: for their crimes, of which there are many. Um So, 119 00:07:59,680 --> 00:08:02,880 Speaker 1: what was once a very small little berg in San 120 00:08:02,880 --> 00:08:08,160 Speaker 1: Francisco became this massive, bustling metropolis with the population of 121 00:08:08,200 --> 00:08:11,480 Speaker 1: around twenty five thousand, and that happened very very very quickly. 122 00:08:11,920 --> 00:08:14,840 Speaker 1: By the way, kg e D dot org has a 123 00:08:14,880 --> 00:08:19,760 Speaker 1: fabulous article about this subject and this historical figure written 124 00:08:19,920 --> 00:08:23,960 Speaker 1: by a Ryan Levy. You can actually well reported by. 125 00:08:24,160 --> 00:08:26,440 Speaker 1: You can hear the piece on k q e D 126 00:08:26,920 --> 00:08:29,320 Speaker 1: dot com to get a little bit more backgrounds. Will 127 00:08:29,360 --> 00:08:31,400 Speaker 1: be using that as one of our sources. But when 128 00:08:31,440 --> 00:08:36,559 Speaker 1: he arrived, um, he had already kind of gone through 129 00:08:36,880 --> 00:08:39,880 Speaker 1: some of the highs and lows that we talked about 130 00:08:39,920 --> 00:08:42,800 Speaker 1: back when he was in South Africa. He built a 131 00:08:42,880 --> 00:08:46,000 Speaker 1: business and lost a business, So he was kind of 132 00:08:46,040 --> 00:08:50,439 Speaker 1: already prepared for the sort of seat of your pants 133 00:08:50,559 --> 00:08:54,200 Speaker 1: kind of attitude that takes to jump in feed first 134 00:08:54,240 --> 00:08:58,920 Speaker 1: into a very very uh competitive and dangerous situation there 135 00:08:58,920 --> 00:09:03,280 Speaker 1: in San Francisco. So he started selling things like rice 136 00:09:03,400 --> 00:09:07,520 Speaker 1: and flour, things that you know, goods that people needed. Um. 137 00:09:07,600 --> 00:09:11,600 Speaker 1: He was smart with his earnings. He invested in real estate. 138 00:09:12,120 --> 00:09:15,559 Speaker 1: He built things there in San Francisco. He built buildings 139 00:09:15,640 --> 00:09:20,600 Speaker 1: on three of the four corners of Sansom and Jackson Streets, 140 00:09:21,400 --> 00:09:25,280 Speaker 1: which was a very very bustling and important little intersection 141 00:09:25,360 --> 00:09:28,520 Speaker 1: there in town. He also bought plots in the now 142 00:09:28,600 --> 00:09:31,679 Speaker 1: incredibly I mean, every part of San Francisco is affluent 143 00:09:31,840 --> 00:09:35,120 Speaker 1: and most people are priced out of even hanging out there. 144 00:09:35,120 --> 00:09:38,640 Speaker 1: But North Beach area exactly the tenderland, which used to 145 00:09:38,640 --> 00:09:40,760 Speaker 1: be the kind of artists, kind of like up and 146 00:09:40,800 --> 00:09:43,120 Speaker 1: comer kind of area for people that were more scrappy 147 00:09:43,160 --> 00:09:45,360 Speaker 1: and wanted to get set up. But yeah, North Beach 148 00:09:45,400 --> 00:09:50,520 Speaker 1: is now incredibly expensive waterfront area. So I wanna step 149 00:09:50,559 --> 00:09:53,960 Speaker 1: back a little bit with the question of how he 150 00:09:54,040 --> 00:09:57,640 Speaker 1: got to San Francisco. He did get that inheritance, but 151 00:09:57,760 --> 00:10:00,160 Speaker 1: he earned it in a very tragic way, and he 152 00:10:00,240 --> 00:10:03,360 Speaker 1: was very young with this happened. He was twenty one 153 00:10:03,440 --> 00:10:05,840 Speaker 1: years old when he opened his own business. It went 154 00:10:05,920 --> 00:10:09,360 Speaker 1: bankrupt in less than two years, just eighteen months. And 155 00:10:09,400 --> 00:10:13,120 Speaker 1: then by eighteen forty eight his parents, both of them 156 00:10:13,480 --> 00:10:16,960 Speaker 1: and two of his siblings had died, so there wasn't 157 00:10:17,040 --> 00:10:20,360 Speaker 1: much holding him back. He was going to You know, um, 158 00:10:20,400 --> 00:10:22,959 Speaker 1: it's like in Hambleton's right in New York, you can 159 00:10:22,960 --> 00:10:25,080 Speaker 1: be a new man. It was that for him, but 160 00:10:25,160 --> 00:10:28,080 Speaker 1: in San Francisco, and like you said, Noel, he did 161 00:10:28,360 --> 00:10:32,800 Speaker 1: really well. He was, by eighteen fifty two, one of 162 00:10:33,000 --> 00:10:38,520 Speaker 1: the upper crusts, upper echelon members of society. He had 163 00:10:38,559 --> 00:10:41,520 Speaker 1: this forty thousand dollar state. He flipped it to two 164 00:10:41,640 --> 00:10:46,400 Speaker 1: hundred and fifty thousand dollars. But you know, gold rush, 165 00:10:46,720 --> 00:10:49,920 Speaker 1: kind of like a casino. At this point, his greed 166 00:10:50,080 --> 00:10:53,480 Speaker 1: got the better of him. We talked about the rice stuff. 167 00:10:53,760 --> 00:10:57,320 Speaker 1: He was planning his next expansion in his empire, his 168 00:10:57,400 --> 00:11:02,200 Speaker 1: multifaceted business portfolio, and he knew there was a rice 169 00:11:02,240 --> 00:11:06,360 Speaker 1: famine ongoing in China. So he said, you know what, 170 00:11:06,880 --> 00:11:10,040 Speaker 1: maybe I can corner the rice market by buying an 171 00:11:10,200 --> 00:11:14,600 Speaker 1: entire shipload of Peruvian rice. And we got this from 172 00:11:14,640 --> 00:11:18,560 Speaker 1: a thought Co article by Bill Lamb. So in December 173 00:11:18,559 --> 00:11:23,120 Speaker 1: of eighteen fifty two, China had this domestic rice famine 174 00:11:23,160 --> 00:11:27,960 Speaker 1: going on, and they responded by placing a ban on 175 00:11:29,000 --> 00:11:32,839 Speaker 1: any exportation of rice to any other countries. This meant 176 00:11:32,920 --> 00:11:35,840 Speaker 1: that when Norton was planning his next business move, the 177 00:11:35,880 --> 00:11:40,440 Speaker 1: price of rice in San Francisco had exploded by eight 178 00:11:40,520 --> 00:11:44,320 Speaker 1: h and yeah, yeah, And so he said, I'm gonna 179 00:11:44,360 --> 00:11:47,679 Speaker 1: buy these two hundred thousand pounds of rice from this 180 00:11:47,720 --> 00:11:52,720 Speaker 1: ship that is coming to California from Peru, and I'm 181 00:11:52,760 --> 00:11:56,640 Speaker 1: sure the prices are gonna soar. So he puts twenty 182 00:11:56,720 --> 00:11:59,839 Speaker 1: five grand on the venture, and he has a couple 183 00:11:59,840 --> 00:12:02,800 Speaker 1: of other people chipping in money as well, and then 184 00:12:02,840 --> 00:12:05,560 Speaker 1: everything goes wrong. Well, the guy was clearly quite savvy, 185 00:12:05,600 --> 00:12:07,160 Speaker 1: because I mean, you know, this would I mean, you know, 186 00:12:07,320 --> 00:12:09,880 Speaker 1: news would have traveled slower certainly in those days. But 187 00:12:10,160 --> 00:12:12,480 Speaker 1: he he had to have the information when few other 188 00:12:12,559 --> 00:12:15,200 Speaker 1: people had it about what was going on in China. 189 00:12:15,600 --> 00:12:17,440 Speaker 1: Um and be he had to have figured out a 190 00:12:17,440 --> 00:12:20,320 Speaker 1: way to convince the Peruvian merchants to sell him the 191 00:12:20,520 --> 00:12:23,920 Speaker 1: entire boatload, you know, at a reasonable price. You think 192 00:12:23,960 --> 00:12:27,000 Speaker 1: that they would have, um maybe been aware of this 193 00:12:27,120 --> 00:12:29,679 Speaker 1: rice shortage and sold it for way, way more money. 194 00:12:29,720 --> 00:12:32,120 Speaker 1: But they obviously didn't have that information, or at least 195 00:12:32,400 --> 00:12:34,880 Speaker 1: not to the degree that he had it. But right, 196 00:12:34,960 --> 00:12:37,640 Speaker 1: boom and bust that those are the keywords for this 197 00:12:37,720 --> 00:12:41,199 Speaker 1: period in American history. And uh, while boom was happening 198 00:12:41,200 --> 00:12:43,679 Speaker 1: for him right off the bat, bust was not too 199 00:12:43,679 --> 00:12:46,680 Speaker 1: far off the horizon. As you said, Ben, everything kind 200 00:12:46,679 --> 00:12:49,440 Speaker 1: of went wrong. So I mentioned that it was a 201 00:12:49,600 --> 00:12:51,080 Speaker 1: you know, a smart move that he was able to 202 00:12:51,080 --> 00:12:54,000 Speaker 1: convince these Peruvian merchants to sell him this rice at 203 00:12:54,040 --> 00:12:57,839 Speaker 1: what would have been a premium based on the skyrocketing 204 00:12:57,920 --> 00:13:01,360 Speaker 1: prices of rice. But bare la Peruvian rice, or at 205 00:13:01,440 --> 00:13:05,120 Speaker 1: least this shipment approving rice, was of pretty poor quality. 206 00:13:05,200 --> 00:13:08,199 Speaker 1: And to answer my other question that I posed, there 207 00:13:08,280 --> 00:13:10,840 Speaker 1: was also kind of a lot of it, So he 208 00:13:10,960 --> 00:13:14,880 Speaker 1: wasn't nearly in the catbird seat position that he fancied 209 00:13:14,920 --> 00:13:19,640 Speaker 1: himself in. Right, Yeah, there was not just lower quality rice, 210 00:13:19,720 --> 00:13:23,920 Speaker 1: but there was tons of it. Because he didn't corner 211 00:13:24,000 --> 00:13:27,320 Speaker 1: the market, that's what happened. Several other ships came in. 212 00:13:27,600 --> 00:13:30,640 Speaker 1: They were also loaded with hundreds of thousands of pounds 213 00:13:30,640 --> 00:13:36,559 Speaker 1: of rice. And at this point Joshua still could have recovered. 214 00:13:37,000 --> 00:13:40,280 Speaker 1: He had multiple different businesses, right, he was having a 215 00:13:40,360 --> 00:13:44,319 Speaker 1: real estate for example. But he kind of shot himself 216 00:13:44,360 --> 00:13:48,200 Speaker 1: in the foot and made his situation worse because he 217 00:13:48,400 --> 00:13:51,920 Speaker 1: sued the guy who told him about this Peruvian rice, 218 00:13:52,320 --> 00:13:55,719 Speaker 1: and this led to a court case that stretched on 219 00:13:56,200 --> 00:14:01,120 Speaker 1: for four years and he's paying every day on this thing. 220 00:14:01,160 --> 00:14:04,239 Speaker 1: He's paying all these expenses for this legal case eventually 221 00:14:04,320 --> 00:14:07,480 Speaker 1: goes to the state Supreme Court, the California Supreme Court, 222 00:14:07,760 --> 00:14:12,199 Speaker 1: and they say we rule against you, Joshua Norton. So 223 00:14:12,240 --> 00:14:17,199 Speaker 1: the bank forecloses on a ton of his real estate holdings. Eventually, 224 00:14:17,360 --> 00:14:22,040 Speaker 1: by eighteen fifty eight, he has declared bankruptcy and he 225 00:14:22,120 --> 00:14:24,680 Speaker 1: goes dark for a few years. He has to move 226 00:14:24,720 --> 00:14:27,280 Speaker 1: out of his really nice home. He's not going to 227 00:14:27,400 --> 00:14:31,480 Speaker 1: the social uh, social functions, you know, the suareis of 228 00:14:31,520 --> 00:14:34,320 Speaker 1: the elite. He's gone for about a year or so, 229 00:14:35,080 --> 00:14:39,240 Speaker 1: and when he finally comes back into the public eye, 230 00:14:39,720 --> 00:14:42,280 Speaker 1: a lot of people are going, well, you know, withoutr 231 00:14:42,400 --> 00:14:46,880 Speaker 1: Joshua Norton, he didn't just lose his fortune, he also 232 00:14:47,080 --> 00:14:57,800 Speaker 1: lost his mind. H that'll happen um. And it's sort 233 00:14:57,800 --> 00:15:00,360 Speaker 1: of evidence by the idea that he thought he could 234 00:15:00,360 --> 00:15:02,960 Speaker 1: sue the guy that gave him a hot tip about 235 00:15:02,960 --> 00:15:05,600 Speaker 1: a business prospect. That's not really how that works. That's 236 00:15:05,600 --> 00:15:07,560 Speaker 1: like the equivalent of trying to sue someone that gives 237 00:15:07,600 --> 00:15:10,400 Speaker 1: you a stock tip and then it tanks. You got 238 00:15:10,400 --> 00:15:13,600 Speaker 1: no grounds for suing. That's that's not how that works. 239 00:15:13,680 --> 00:15:17,440 Speaker 1: That's just sorry, Charlie. You know, try again next time. Yeah, 240 00:15:17,480 --> 00:15:19,480 Speaker 1: It's it's it's like it's like someone gives you a 241 00:15:19,480 --> 00:15:22,080 Speaker 1: bad tip on insider training, you drag him through the Mud, 242 00:15:22,080 --> 00:15:24,560 Speaker 1: and it's like, well, you just committed a felony. Like, 243 00:15:24,640 --> 00:15:26,480 Speaker 1: that's not a good idea. I mean, obviously that's not 244 00:15:26,520 --> 00:15:29,120 Speaker 1: what it is exactly happening here, but it's still not 245 00:15:29,240 --> 00:15:32,800 Speaker 1: a good idea. Yeah, legally it's fraught. You know, this 246 00:15:32,880 --> 00:15:35,160 Speaker 1: isn't the same thing. But it does remind me of 247 00:15:35,160 --> 00:15:39,120 Speaker 1: those court cases where a thief will try to sue 248 00:15:39,160 --> 00:15:42,920 Speaker 1: someone because they they injured themselves when they were breaking 249 00:15:42,920 --> 00:15:45,680 Speaker 1: into a person's house. Like stuff like that has happened. 250 00:15:45,720 --> 00:15:48,240 Speaker 1: There's a great series we can do on ridiculous court 251 00:15:48,280 --> 00:15:52,160 Speaker 1: cases in the future. But we don't know whether Norton 252 00:15:52,280 --> 00:15:56,440 Speaker 1: was experiencing genuine mental problems or whether he just decided 253 00:15:56,520 --> 00:16:01,160 Speaker 1: to holy embrace a very eccentric lifestyle. We don't know 254 00:16:01,280 --> 00:16:04,160 Speaker 1: the interior of the man's mind. But what we can 255 00:16:04,320 --> 00:16:08,720 Speaker 1: say for sure is that a The San Francisco Bulletin 256 00:16:09,240 --> 00:16:14,080 Speaker 1: published a fantastic proclamation from Norton to the editor on 257 00:16:14,160 --> 00:16:18,280 Speaker 1: September eighteen fifty nine, where he says the following, know 258 00:16:18,480 --> 00:16:20,200 Speaker 1: this a little long, so I think we should split 259 00:16:20,200 --> 00:16:23,720 Speaker 1: this up. But here we go, at the peremptory request 260 00:16:23,800 --> 00:16:27,240 Speaker 1: of a large majority of the citizens of these United 261 00:16:27,320 --> 00:16:31,320 Speaker 1: States side Joshua and Norton, formerly of Algo Bay, Cape 262 00:16:31,320 --> 00:16:34,000 Speaker 1: of Good Hope, and now for the last nine years 263 00:16:34,080 --> 00:16:38,320 Speaker 1: and ten months past, of San Francisco, California, declare and 264 00:16:38,400 --> 00:16:43,440 Speaker 1: proclaim myself the Emperor of these United States. This is 265 00:16:43,480 --> 00:16:46,040 Speaker 1: just one long sentence, but it goes on. I still 266 00:16:46,040 --> 00:16:48,880 Speaker 1: think it's too long. We should split it up, and 267 00:16:49,120 --> 00:16:52,520 Speaker 1: in the virtue of the authority thereby and me invested 268 00:16:52,640 --> 00:16:56,440 Speaker 1: to hereby order and direct the representatives of the different 269 00:16:56,440 --> 00:16:59,840 Speaker 1: States of the Union to assemble in Musical Hall of 270 00:17:00,120 --> 00:17:03,840 Speaker 1: this city on the first day of February next then 271 00:17:04,080 --> 00:17:07,600 Speaker 1: and there to make such alterations in the existing laws 272 00:17:07,640 --> 00:17:10,960 Speaker 1: of the Union as may ameliorate the evils under which 273 00:17:11,200 --> 00:17:15,920 Speaker 1: the county is laboring, and therefore cause confidence to exist, 274 00:17:15,960 --> 00:17:20,160 Speaker 1: both at home and abroad, in our stability and integrity, 275 00:17:20,480 --> 00:17:24,959 Speaker 1: not in the first Emperor of the United States. Okay, okay, 276 00:17:25,200 --> 00:17:26,600 Speaker 1: So first of all, let's just talk a little bit 277 00:17:26,600 --> 00:17:30,920 Speaker 1: about the legality of a proclamation, Like what is a proclamation? 278 00:17:31,400 --> 00:17:34,840 Speaker 1: Like you can proclaim just about anything, Like Remember when 279 00:17:34,840 --> 00:17:38,639 Speaker 1: Trump like proclaimed he he liked to proclaim things. Remember 280 00:17:39,240 --> 00:17:43,320 Speaker 1: what did he proclaim? Well, I think more particularly of 281 00:17:43,359 --> 00:17:47,280 Speaker 1: the proclamations that Europeans made when they arrived on other 282 00:17:47,440 --> 00:17:51,400 Speaker 1: people's land, and they would stroll into these communities and say, 283 00:17:51,480 --> 00:17:55,679 Speaker 1: I'd delegate this is on to Spain, or this is 284 00:17:55,800 --> 00:17:59,159 Speaker 1: this is all Portugal now you guys. Uh. They clearly 285 00:17:59,200 --> 00:18:02,560 Speaker 1: had these American accents already in their in their statements. 286 00:18:02,920 --> 00:18:08,840 Speaker 1: These proclamations legally are they're not binding, but you can't 287 00:18:08,920 --> 00:18:13,199 Speaker 1: really get sued for them. And at the time these 288 00:18:13,240 --> 00:18:16,919 Speaker 1: demands are his statement, I want everybody to go to 289 00:18:16,960 --> 00:18:22,640 Speaker 1: the music hall on February one. This wasn't super crazy 290 00:18:22,840 --> 00:18:28,760 Speaker 1: because secession was already in the national zeitgeist at this time. 291 00:18:28,880 --> 00:18:35,520 Speaker 1: Abolitionists were increasingly increasingly upset, and rightly so, within action 292 00:18:36,000 --> 00:18:38,960 Speaker 1: on the horrors of slavery, and so all we can 293 00:18:38,960 --> 00:18:43,640 Speaker 1: guess is that the editor of the bulletin just said, hey, 294 00:18:43,760 --> 00:18:46,440 Speaker 1: you know, let's give it a shot. Slow news day 295 00:18:46,920 --> 00:18:49,960 Speaker 1: people are already kind of vibe in with this kind 296 00:18:49,960 --> 00:18:55,399 Speaker 1: of stuff, And unlike Norton's prediction on Peruvian rice, this 297 00:18:55,640 --> 00:19:01,160 Speaker 1: editor hit a gold mine. Readers loved Joshua Norton, they 298 00:19:01,320 --> 00:19:05,879 Speaker 1: loved the Emperor, and other newspapers quickly picked up the 299 00:19:05,960 --> 00:19:10,240 Speaker 1: story and started spreading around not just this proclamation, but 300 00:19:10,520 --> 00:19:15,919 Speaker 1: multiple like proclamations declarations of his Yeah, I mean, you know, 301 00:19:16,080 --> 00:19:18,280 Speaker 1: to me, I think this was a savvy move on 302 00:19:18,359 --> 00:19:21,080 Speaker 1: the part of an editor in that he recognized this 303 00:19:21,280 --> 00:19:24,440 Speaker 1: as it could be perceived as satire, you know what 304 00:19:24,520 --> 00:19:26,760 Speaker 1: I mean, Like it was very much kind of poking 305 00:19:26,760 --> 00:19:31,800 Speaker 1: a finger in the eye of the messy bureaucracy of 306 00:19:31,920 --> 00:19:34,560 Speaker 1: politics and of governments, you know, at a time where 307 00:19:35,119 --> 00:19:37,720 Speaker 1: the folks in charge weren't really doing much to help 308 00:19:38,080 --> 00:19:40,280 Speaker 1: the common man. You know. It was, like we said, 309 00:19:40,320 --> 00:19:44,280 Speaker 1: like very much a lawless kind of period in American history, 310 00:19:44,359 --> 00:19:46,160 Speaker 1: and it didn't seem like there was a whole lot 311 00:19:46,440 --> 00:19:49,080 Speaker 1: of interest in the plight of the common man. So 312 00:19:49,119 --> 00:19:51,960 Speaker 1: this to me acts as like a really cool kind 313 00:19:51,960 --> 00:19:55,679 Speaker 1: of like um critique of that system. You know. In 314 00:19:55,680 --> 00:19:58,879 Speaker 1: some ways, like I don't believe that the the editor 315 00:19:59,040 --> 00:20:02,040 Speaker 1: of the Bullets in believe that by publishing this it 316 00:20:02,119 --> 00:20:04,560 Speaker 1: was in some way going to, you know, make this real, 317 00:20:05,040 --> 00:20:08,240 Speaker 1: but it absolutely made it real in the minds of 318 00:20:08,280 --> 00:20:12,199 Speaker 1: the readers of Bullets. It's also you know, I like 319 00:20:12,240 --> 00:20:14,760 Speaker 1: what you're saying about satire. It also makes me think 320 00:20:14,960 --> 00:20:17,840 Speaker 1: of clickbing that we would we would call it today, 321 00:20:18,000 --> 00:20:21,159 Speaker 1: and it becomes sort of a currency of communication for 322 00:20:21,240 --> 00:20:24,200 Speaker 1: people in San Francisco. They want to talk about the 323 00:20:24,320 --> 00:20:28,159 Speaker 1: latest proclamations. Uh, we have one of the first of 324 00:20:28,359 --> 00:20:33,520 Speaker 1: his several proclamations in October eighteen fifty nine, he says, 325 00:20:33,840 --> 00:20:38,520 Speaker 1: fraud and corruption preventive fan proper expression of the public voice, 326 00:20:38,800 --> 00:20:44,520 Speaker 1: in consequence of which we do hereby abolished Congress. Be 327 00:20:44,800 --> 00:20:48,680 Speaker 1: that be that. I mentioned this sometimes on the stuff 328 00:20:48,720 --> 00:20:50,159 Speaker 1: they don't want you to know. But you would be 329 00:20:50,200 --> 00:20:53,879 Speaker 1: surprised how many terrible things historically have a higher rating 330 00:20:54,200 --> 00:20:58,600 Speaker 1: than Congress, including some STDs. That's a true story in 331 00:20:58,600 --> 00:21:02,679 Speaker 1: the past. Yep, fires probably, I'll send it to you. 332 00:21:02,760 --> 00:21:05,679 Speaker 1: But uh, but here's what happened. People love the story. 333 00:21:06,000 --> 00:21:13,120 Speaker 1: But Congress, those dirty scoundrels kept meeting, and so Norton 334 00:21:13,600 --> 00:21:17,200 Speaker 1: issued another decree where he ordered a general named Winfield 335 00:21:17,280 --> 00:21:21,560 Speaker 1: Scott to march on Washington and kick the legislators out. Yeah. So, 336 00:21:21,600 --> 00:21:24,960 Speaker 1: I mean, we we're talking about proclaiming, right. You often 337 00:21:25,040 --> 00:21:28,960 Speaker 1: hear that term used with the words self as a 338 00:21:29,000 --> 00:21:31,880 Speaker 1: hyphenate in front of it, like the self proclaimed King 339 00:21:31,920 --> 00:21:34,040 Speaker 1: of New York. That was one of Donald Trump's kind 340 00:21:34,080 --> 00:21:38,359 Speaker 1: of personas or like, you know, saying world's best cup 341 00:21:38,400 --> 00:21:42,159 Speaker 1: of coffee that's self proclaimed as the proprietor of like 342 00:21:42,240 --> 00:21:45,600 Speaker 1: say a New York City diner. Nothing really provable in 343 00:21:45,600 --> 00:21:49,240 Speaker 1: a statement like that, but it certainly turns heads, except 344 00:21:49,280 --> 00:21:51,320 Speaker 1: that most every diner in New York says they have 345 00:21:51,359 --> 00:21:53,600 Speaker 1: the world's best cup of coffee, or at least in 346 00:21:53,720 --> 00:21:58,280 Speaker 1: some region. So this goes over really really well with 347 00:21:58,320 --> 00:22:01,320 Speaker 1: the public. It is I think, largely seen as an 348 00:22:01,320 --> 00:22:04,359 Speaker 1: interesting satire, a way of kind of poking fun at 349 00:22:04,359 --> 00:22:07,800 Speaker 1: the absurdity that is Washington, and this guy really becomes 350 00:22:07,840 --> 00:22:10,959 Speaker 1: kind of this mouthpiece for the discontented public who are 351 00:22:11,000 --> 00:22:14,800 Speaker 1: absolutely fed up with all of the hypocrisy and do 352 00:22:14,880 --> 00:22:20,679 Speaker 1: nothingness of Washington. Yeah yeah, just so, uh, he also 353 00:22:21,040 --> 00:22:24,040 Speaker 1: is existing. You know, nothing exists in a vacuum, so 354 00:22:24,200 --> 00:22:30,120 Speaker 1: he is also existing. As these profound things are happening 355 00:22:30,240 --> 00:22:34,160 Speaker 1: in the United States, the shadow of the Civil War 356 00:22:34,320 --> 00:22:39,000 Speaker 1: is looming large, and in response, Emperor Norton announces to 357 00:22:39,080 --> 00:22:42,360 Speaker 1: everyone that he has dissolved the Union, the entire thing, 358 00:22:42,880 --> 00:22:46,600 Speaker 1: and now the US is an absolute monarchy. He's at 359 00:22:46,600 --> 00:22:49,040 Speaker 1: the helm, and this is sort of for it's pitched 360 00:22:49,040 --> 00:22:53,359 Speaker 1: as a security, stability and safety thing. Uh. He also 361 00:22:54,160 --> 00:23:00,640 Speaker 1: when when France invades Mexico later in eighteen sixty one, 362 00:23:00,960 --> 00:23:05,000 Speaker 1: he shows that he has Mexico's back by giving himself 363 00:23:05,040 --> 00:23:09,880 Speaker 1: an extra honorific. He styles himself the protector of Mexico. 364 00:23:10,040 --> 00:23:12,439 Speaker 1: So for those of us keeping track at home, he 365 00:23:12,600 --> 00:23:16,919 Speaker 1: is now Norton One, Emperor of the United States and 366 00:23:17,080 --> 00:23:20,080 Speaker 1: Protector of Mexico. I love the word honorific by the way, 367 00:23:20,160 --> 00:23:22,000 Speaker 1: um I had to. I hear it all the time, 368 00:23:22,040 --> 00:23:25,000 Speaker 1: and I of course mainly understand what it means. But 369 00:23:25,119 --> 00:23:27,000 Speaker 1: um I did just look it up, and there is 370 00:23:27,040 --> 00:23:30,320 Speaker 1: a specific caveat to it. It is a title given 371 00:23:30,359 --> 00:23:33,080 Speaker 1: as a mark of respect, but having few or no 372 00:23:33,280 --> 00:23:36,240 Speaker 1: duties associated with it, So it's sort of like a 373 00:23:36,320 --> 00:23:39,800 Speaker 1: symbolic title. Uh. And Nordin was just given those two 374 00:23:39,840 --> 00:23:44,240 Speaker 1: himself left and right, and he really became, at least 375 00:23:44,240 --> 00:23:49,720 Speaker 1: in San Francisco, a an absolute public figure, a real celebrity. Um. 376 00:23:49,760 --> 00:23:52,600 Speaker 1: He was treated, for lack of a better phrase, or 377 00:23:52,600 --> 00:23:55,480 Speaker 1: maybe it's the exact right phrase, like royalty. Even though 378 00:23:55,520 --> 00:24:00,919 Speaker 1: he was somewhat of a you know, Darryl type dude. 379 00:24:01,359 --> 00:24:05,360 Speaker 1: He was treated with respect by business owners restaurant tours, 380 00:24:05,520 --> 00:24:08,840 Speaker 1: theater owners. You know, he was given uh special reserve 381 00:24:08,960 --> 00:24:14,359 Speaker 1: seats in restaurants and theaters, and he was absolutely in 382 00:24:14,400 --> 00:24:16,840 Speaker 1: and of himself kind of like a tourist attraction. And 383 00:24:16,880 --> 00:24:19,000 Speaker 1: the reason I think largely that he was given all 384 00:24:19,000 --> 00:24:21,760 Speaker 1: of these extra kind of perks was because the business 385 00:24:21,800 --> 00:24:24,600 Speaker 1: owners knew that if he was there, people would come, 386 00:24:25,000 --> 00:24:27,280 Speaker 1: um patronize their business. Is just to kind of catch 387 00:24:27,320 --> 00:24:29,280 Speaker 1: a glimpse of him in the hopes that he might like, 388 00:24:29,359 --> 00:24:33,000 Speaker 1: you know, pontificate or whatever. Yeah. Absolutely, this is this 389 00:24:33,080 --> 00:24:36,119 Speaker 1: is a really important part. There is money to be 390 00:24:36,200 --> 00:24:40,760 Speaker 1: made from the tourism aspect. It also makes the city 391 00:24:41,040 --> 00:24:46,439 Speaker 1: unique and helps San Francisco build its own mythology. We 392 00:24:46,480 --> 00:24:51,200 Speaker 1: should mention this is neat little detail. Norton is now 393 00:24:51,440 --> 00:24:56,840 Speaker 1: dressing in character. He is dressed in old military clothing 394 00:24:56,920 --> 00:24:59,840 Speaker 1: from both the Union and the Confederate sides, because as 395 00:24:59,840 --> 00:25:02,800 Speaker 1: an emperor he's a uniter, you know, not a divider. 396 00:25:03,040 --> 00:25:07,000 Speaker 1: He also has a beaver hat with wait for it, 397 00:25:07,440 --> 00:25:12,000 Speaker 1: ostrich feathers, so he's not just playing hatted scamp. And 398 00:25:12,400 --> 00:25:17,520 Speaker 1: he also has a saber, which is ceremonial he he 399 00:25:17,600 --> 00:25:21,679 Speaker 1: does Um okay, we we want to be sensitive to 400 00:25:21,720 --> 00:25:25,440 Speaker 1: this issue because a lot of people find themselves unpredictably 401 00:25:25,480 --> 00:25:30,040 Speaker 1: in bad places. He spends most of his days walking 402 00:25:30,200 --> 00:25:34,679 Speaker 1: through the streets of the metropolis, quote unquote, inspecting the realm. 403 00:25:34,960 --> 00:25:37,119 Speaker 1: You know what I mean. Picture him tapping that saber 404 00:25:37,119 --> 00:25:42,040 Speaker 1: against the bridge and then demanding payment for taxes, and 405 00:25:42,560 --> 00:25:46,760 Speaker 1: luckily for a lot of the local businesses, he would 406 00:25:46,760 --> 00:25:49,399 Speaker 1: accept payment and kind. It didn't always have to be cash. 407 00:25:49,560 --> 00:25:51,520 Speaker 1: Sometimes it would might just be a sandwich or a 408 00:25:51,520 --> 00:25:55,800 Speaker 1: hot cup of soup. And people loved him. He was harmless. Uh, 409 00:25:55,800 --> 00:25:59,440 Speaker 1: he was memorable. Writers of the day, as we'll find 410 00:25:59,520 --> 00:26:02,680 Speaker 1: even walk to him as well. I love that he 411 00:26:02,760 --> 00:26:07,320 Speaker 1: was able to walk around the city demanding things while 412 00:26:07,359 --> 00:26:10,840 Speaker 1: brandishing a saber and was still considered harmless. I think 413 00:26:10,840 --> 00:26:14,000 Speaker 1: that speaks a lot to the attitude and uh wonderful 414 00:26:14,080 --> 00:26:17,800 Speaker 1: quirkiness that is so famous in the history of San Francisco. 415 00:26:18,040 --> 00:26:20,399 Speaker 1: I think this is really awesome character that kind of 416 00:26:20,400 --> 00:26:23,280 Speaker 1: sums up the uniqueness of of that city and that 417 00:26:23,359 --> 00:26:26,679 Speaker 1: people weren't like freaked out about this guy walking around 418 00:26:26,800 --> 00:26:29,120 Speaker 1: with the brandishing a sword and in a beaver hat 419 00:26:29,160 --> 00:26:32,320 Speaker 1: and and the demanding payment for taxes. Uh, it could 420 00:26:32,320 --> 00:26:34,639 Speaker 1: have gone badly, you know. I mean, I think it 421 00:26:34,720 --> 00:26:37,320 Speaker 1: speaks to the fact that like, at least at this point, 422 00:26:37,400 --> 00:26:42,080 Speaker 1: his mental state well maybe a little touched, wasn't dangerous, 423 00:26:42,200 --> 00:26:45,000 Speaker 1: wasn't veering into like psychosis or anything. Because I could 424 00:26:45,040 --> 00:26:49,280 Speaker 1: see some altercations bubbling up. You know, um if people 425 00:26:49,359 --> 00:26:51,800 Speaker 1: questioned him. But I think that the key was people. 426 00:26:52,200 --> 00:26:53,560 Speaker 1: I don't even if you know, if you call it 427 00:26:53,640 --> 00:26:56,840 Speaker 1: humoring him, right, I think it really was kind of 428 00:26:56,880 --> 00:26:59,760 Speaker 1: this like mythology, Ben, like you said, yeah, I would 429 00:26:59,800 --> 00:27:03,280 Speaker 1: say they almost adopted him. The city almost adopted him. 430 00:27:03,400 --> 00:27:08,160 Speaker 1: And there's a lot to be said for bedside manner. Right. 431 00:27:08,400 --> 00:27:12,320 Speaker 1: He wasn't shaking these people down mafioso style. He was 432 00:27:12,400 --> 00:27:15,960 Speaker 1: probably using the royal we and he was probably you know, 433 00:27:16,119 --> 00:27:20,800 Speaker 1: like I have always said, this is the best cup 434 00:27:20,840 --> 00:27:25,000 Speaker 1: of coffee in San Francisco. That is a royal proclamation, 435 00:27:25,680 --> 00:27:32,320 Speaker 1: uh tribute, We do regrettably note that you are delinquent 436 00:27:32,680 --> 00:27:37,720 Speaker 1: in your taxes. Matter that we could solve today with 437 00:27:37,840 --> 00:27:41,919 Speaker 1: a simple cup of your famous coffee, you know what 438 00:27:41,920 --> 00:27:45,680 Speaker 1: I mean, right, something nice like that. I don't think 439 00:27:45,680 --> 00:27:48,480 Speaker 1: he's like, yeah, you make a good point. Though he's 440 00:27:48,520 --> 00:27:53,399 Speaker 1: not threatening people. He has another hat that has a 441 00:27:53,440 --> 00:27:59,879 Speaker 1: peacock feather. He is given Oh, he's given this military regale, 442 00:28:00,080 --> 00:28:04,200 Speaker 1: by the way, by US Army officers who like him. Uh. 443 00:28:04,320 --> 00:28:11,080 Speaker 1: He also will, at the slightest invitation speak extemporaneously on 444 00:28:11,280 --> 00:28:16,960 Speaker 1: a wide, wide range of esoteric philosophical concepts. He gets 445 00:28:17,000 --> 00:28:21,639 Speaker 1: some sidekicks. How adorable is this bummer? And Lazarus, two 446 00:28:21,720 --> 00:28:25,880 Speaker 1: dogs that would walk around with him constantly as he expected, 447 00:28:26,000 --> 00:28:31,320 Speaker 1: you know, Rhodes sidewalks public property. This guy is like 448 00:28:31,359 --> 00:28:35,000 Speaker 1: an early like psychedelic prophet if you think about it, 449 00:28:35,080 --> 00:28:38,080 Speaker 1: you know, I mean like a Neil Cassidy type figure, 450 00:28:38,360 --> 00:28:40,400 Speaker 1: or like Jerry Garcia, you know what I mean. Like 451 00:28:40,400 --> 00:28:43,360 Speaker 1: it very much is almost like a proto kind of 452 00:28:44,240 --> 00:28:48,160 Speaker 1: hippie sort of which obviously became a really huge part 453 00:28:48,200 --> 00:28:51,160 Speaker 1: of the fabric of San Francisco, Hate Ashbury and Grateful 454 00:28:51,160 --> 00:28:54,560 Speaker 1: Dead and psychedelics and all that good stuff. And eventually, 455 00:28:54,920 --> 00:28:57,640 Speaker 1: like all of that stuff, he caught on in the 456 00:28:57,920 --> 00:29:03,120 Speaker 1: larger zeitgeist um coming a character in comic operas and 457 00:29:03,200 --> 00:29:06,880 Speaker 1: cartoons and novels, and his story kind of started to 458 00:29:06,920 --> 00:29:11,160 Speaker 1: travel outside of Northern California. There was a reporter a 459 00:29:11,160 --> 00:29:13,560 Speaker 1: little guy by the name of Mark Twain who worked 460 00:29:13,560 --> 00:29:16,920 Speaker 1: for the San Francisco Daily Morning call Um and he 461 00:29:17,640 --> 00:29:21,640 Speaker 1: reportedly was inspired by him to create Um, a royal 462 00:29:21,680 --> 00:29:24,880 Speaker 1: impostor character of his own known as the King, and 463 00:29:25,600 --> 00:29:28,560 Speaker 1: a little book called The Adventures of Huckleberry Finn that 464 00:29:28,720 --> 00:29:31,560 Speaker 1: I think they don't make kids read anymore because of 465 00:29:32,720 --> 00:29:36,760 Speaker 1: problematic language. And I'm glad you mentioned this, because there 466 00:29:36,880 --> 00:29:41,440 Speaker 1: was a wonderful there's some wonderful work by a scholar 467 00:29:41,520 --> 00:29:48,680 Speaker 1: named Shelley Fisher Fishkin who suggests that Huckleberry Finn in 468 00:29:48,760 --> 00:29:51,720 Speaker 1: both Tom Sawyer and the Adventures of Huckleberry Finn was 469 00:29:51,800 --> 00:29:55,160 Speaker 1: himself not white, and that changes the way the book 470 00:29:55,320 --> 00:30:00,000 Speaker 1: is processed. But yeah, but markin Yeah, Mark Twain's complain 471 00:30:00,000 --> 00:30:02,120 Speaker 1: because they took a couple of classes on him back 472 00:30:02,120 --> 00:30:07,080 Speaker 1: in college. I actually read his biography, which I love you, Sam, 473 00:30:07,160 --> 00:30:10,280 Speaker 1: but it needed an editor. But your point holds, so 474 00:30:10,560 --> 00:30:17,000 Speaker 1: Mark Twaine, Neil Gaiman, Charles Bukowski, Robert Louis Stevenson, Christopher Moore. 475 00:30:17,600 --> 00:30:21,800 Speaker 1: Tons of authors and artists are inspired by this guy, 476 00:30:22,120 --> 00:30:27,360 Speaker 1: as are I would argue many businessmen who exist contemporaneously 477 00:30:27,760 --> 00:30:32,160 Speaker 1: with Joshua because they get into the merchandizing. We can't 478 00:30:32,160 --> 00:30:36,600 Speaker 1: forget about the merchandizing. Photographs of him become these incredibly 479 00:30:37,360 --> 00:30:41,640 Speaker 1: sought after souvenirs. If you walk into shops across downtown, 480 00:30:41,960 --> 00:30:46,560 Speaker 1: you'll see people are selling dolls little Emperor Norton action figures. 481 00:30:47,200 --> 00:30:50,720 Speaker 1: He has a free seat at the opening night of 482 00:30:50,840 --> 00:30:54,880 Speaker 1: virtually every play in every theater in town. He rides 483 00:30:54,960 --> 00:30:59,840 Speaker 1: the train for free, and and he eats for free 484 00:30:59,840 --> 00:31:05,560 Speaker 1: at restaurants. He by exchanging a imperial seal exactly. And um, 485 00:31:05,600 --> 00:31:08,400 Speaker 1: you know, you mentioned the merchandizing stuff, and we obviously 486 00:31:08,440 --> 00:31:11,719 Speaker 1: know that this dude had a background in business, and 487 00:31:11,760 --> 00:31:14,040 Speaker 1: I think we could argue that he was pretty good 488 00:31:14,040 --> 00:31:16,200 Speaker 1: at it. He made a couple of poor choices, but 489 00:31:16,280 --> 00:31:18,880 Speaker 1: definitely made a good go of it. Maybe agreed got 490 00:31:18,880 --> 00:31:21,160 Speaker 1: the better of him, but I think he was able 491 00:31:21,240 --> 00:31:26,240 Speaker 1: to parlay some of those skills into his merchandizing. Um, 492 00:31:26,360 --> 00:31:29,560 Speaker 1: because he got a cut of everything. Ah. Yeah, he 493 00:31:29,640 --> 00:31:34,840 Speaker 1: was still considered cash poor, but he definitely he wasn't 494 00:31:35,000 --> 00:31:39,320 Speaker 1: hurting for the necessities of life. The city get had 495 00:31:39,400 --> 00:31:41,800 Speaker 1: just decided to take care of him, But he didn't, 496 00:31:41,840 --> 00:31:43,960 Speaker 1: you know, he didn't have like cash on hand to 497 00:31:44,040 --> 00:31:48,200 Speaker 1: buy a house. I love the idea of quote unquote 498 00:31:48,200 --> 00:31:52,560 Speaker 1: pain for a meal with an imperial seal of approval. 499 00:31:52,640 --> 00:31:55,560 Speaker 1: It's like a story about fran Drescher one time trying 500 00:31:55,600 --> 00:31:58,840 Speaker 1: to pay a restaurant tab with signed photos of herself, 501 00:31:59,120 --> 00:32:01,680 Speaker 1: which I would have accept that exactly. It reminds me 502 00:32:01,720 --> 00:32:04,640 Speaker 1: of the way that the comedian Patton Oswald described the 503 00:32:04,640 --> 00:32:06,880 Speaker 1: town I used to live in, Athens, Georgia, as a 504 00:32:06,880 --> 00:32:09,680 Speaker 1: place where the streets are paved with marijuana and you 505 00:32:09,680 --> 00:32:13,800 Speaker 1: can buy a sandwich with a song. Uh. That's Athens 506 00:32:13,880 --> 00:32:16,000 Speaker 1: is sort of like our little mini San Francisco here 507 00:32:16,080 --> 00:32:18,720 Speaker 1: in the South, home to bands like B fifty two 508 00:32:18,760 --> 00:32:22,560 Speaker 1: and Neutral Milk Hotel and all that good stuff. Yeah, 509 00:32:22,600 --> 00:32:24,880 Speaker 1: and I I also want to give your shout out 510 00:32:25,320 --> 00:32:29,520 Speaker 1: if Joshua, wherever, your majesty, wherever you are, if you 511 00:32:29,560 --> 00:32:33,400 Speaker 1: are listening to this today, well done on having your 512 00:32:33,400 --> 00:32:37,000 Speaker 1: own currency. Bro. I can't believe him calling an emperor bro. 513 00:32:37,560 --> 00:32:41,240 Speaker 1: But in eighteen seventy one, a local printing firm ran 514 00:32:41,360 --> 00:32:45,000 Speaker 1: off special currency with a picture of Norton the First 515 00:32:45,200 --> 00:32:48,760 Speaker 1: and his imperial seal, and he loved it. He started 516 00:32:48,800 --> 00:32:52,600 Speaker 1: passing out the notes as his official government bonds, so 517 00:32:52,680 --> 00:32:56,400 Speaker 1: he would like pay for a meal with these, you know, 518 00:32:56,800 --> 00:33:00,800 Speaker 1: with these Norton bucks, and people kept them. They didn't 519 00:33:00,840 --> 00:33:04,120 Speaker 1: really trade them, Uh, they kept them and displayed them 520 00:33:04,120 --> 00:33:05,560 Speaker 1: like you would see it on the wall of a 521 00:33:05,640 --> 00:33:10,640 Speaker 1: restaurant in a frame with the imperial seal. And you 522 00:33:10,640 --> 00:33:15,840 Speaker 1: you will still find coin collectors trying to buy these 523 00:33:16,440 --> 00:33:23,440 Speaker 1: imperial bonds today. And the funniest thing is the same 524 00:33:23,520 --> 00:33:27,200 Speaker 1: social class of people that we're hanging out with him 525 00:33:27,200 --> 00:33:31,280 Speaker 1: before the Peruvian rice tobaccle, they also got in on 526 00:33:31,400 --> 00:33:36,760 Speaker 1: the game. They dug it like local lawmakers would buy 527 00:33:36,840 --> 00:33:40,600 Speaker 1: him new clothes from the public funds, and no one 528 00:33:40,640 --> 00:33:49,160 Speaker 1: had a problem with it. So we talked about how, 529 00:33:49,200 --> 00:33:52,440 Speaker 1: you know, the whole start of this Emperor Norton craze 530 00:33:53,200 --> 00:33:55,800 Speaker 1: was the result of him having written sort of an 531 00:33:55,880 --> 00:33:59,040 Speaker 1: editorial to the um what was it the bullets in 532 00:33:59,200 --> 00:34:02,480 Speaker 1: San Francisco bullets, I believe, where he proclaimed himself to 533 00:34:02,520 --> 00:34:04,479 Speaker 1: be emperor, and they published it, I think, with a 534 00:34:04,480 --> 00:34:07,760 Speaker 1: bit of a tongue implanted in cheek, knowing that it 535 00:34:07,760 --> 00:34:09,919 Speaker 1: would cause a bit of a stir, and it did, 536 00:34:10,000 --> 00:34:12,160 Speaker 1: and I think it did way more than what they 537 00:34:12,160 --> 00:34:15,840 Speaker 1: were expecting. But the newspapers of San Francisco actually started 538 00:34:15,880 --> 00:34:19,200 Speaker 1: to kind of take advantage of this and published fake 539 00:34:19,520 --> 00:34:25,080 Speaker 1: proclamations and they signed his name to them, which that's 540 00:34:25,120 --> 00:34:30,480 Speaker 1: a little bit above and beyond the originally betraying the king. Yeah, 541 00:34:30,600 --> 00:34:34,279 Speaker 1: that feels like they're treating him like some sort of clown. Uh. 542 00:34:34,320 --> 00:34:36,719 Speaker 1: And if he was, in fact, you know, suffering from 543 00:34:36,719 --> 00:34:40,000 Speaker 1: some mental illness, I would argue that this is pretty 544 00:34:40,000 --> 00:34:44,640 Speaker 1: opportunistic and nasty. But here's the thing. He flipped the scripts. 545 00:34:45,200 --> 00:34:47,920 Speaker 1: He saw that this was happening, and he didn't like 546 00:34:47,960 --> 00:34:51,120 Speaker 1: it one bit. And the man also had important things 547 00:34:51,160 --> 00:34:53,560 Speaker 1: to say. He was not all just bluster and and 548 00:34:53,560 --> 00:34:56,880 Speaker 1: and uh and pomp. In eighteen seventy he began publishing 549 00:34:57,000 --> 00:35:02,400 Speaker 1: his actual proclamations, almost excl elusively in an African American 550 00:35:02,600 --> 00:35:06,920 Speaker 1: owned um newspaper and abolitionist newspaper in fact that came 551 00:35:06,960 --> 00:35:10,080 Speaker 1: out weekly, was called the Pacific Appeal. Uh. And at 552 00:35:10,080 --> 00:35:14,960 Speaker 1: this point he began to speak to the rampant inequality 553 00:35:15,000 --> 00:35:18,200 Speaker 1: that was happening in the United States, and he began 554 00:35:18,280 --> 00:35:21,440 Speaker 1: speaking about how African Americans ought to be given the 555 00:35:21,480 --> 00:35:24,879 Speaker 1: same rights as white men um and should be able 556 00:35:24,880 --> 00:35:27,880 Speaker 1: to attend public schools and ride in public street cars. 557 00:35:28,160 --> 00:35:32,000 Speaker 1: He even spoke to the plight of the Chinese immigrants 558 00:35:32,040 --> 00:35:35,200 Speaker 1: that were, you know, flooding into San Francisco, obviously, who 559 00:35:35,239 --> 00:35:37,279 Speaker 1: were doing a lot of the work that white men 560 00:35:37,320 --> 00:35:39,839 Speaker 1: did not want to do, and were relegated to their 561 00:35:39,840 --> 00:35:44,480 Speaker 1: own kind of ghettos and treated like absolute third class citizens. Um, 562 00:35:44,520 --> 00:35:46,480 Speaker 1: that's another thing that you'll see in Deadwood if you 563 00:35:46,520 --> 00:35:48,480 Speaker 1: watch that show. They have their own whole little kind 564 00:35:48,520 --> 00:35:51,000 Speaker 1: of area that they're not allowed to come out of 565 00:35:51,080 --> 00:35:54,080 Speaker 1: unless at the behest of the white man. And that's 566 00:35:54,080 --> 00:35:58,279 Speaker 1: according to the president of the Emperor's Bridge Campaign, which 567 00:35:58,280 --> 00:36:02,280 Speaker 1: is an organization that searches Norton's life and shares his stories. 568 00:36:02,840 --> 00:36:06,239 Speaker 1: He also said that Norton was famous for arguing for 569 00:36:06,320 --> 00:36:11,160 Speaker 1: the rights of Native Americans and was very anti political corruption. 570 00:36:11,400 --> 00:36:14,000 Speaker 1: So all of this stuff holds true about the initial 571 00:36:14,120 --> 00:36:17,239 Speaker 1: kind of satire of his character, but now he's really 572 00:36:17,320 --> 00:36:19,520 Speaker 1: kind of like taking it into the realm of like 573 00:36:19,640 --> 00:36:22,440 Speaker 1: public discourse, you know, and really getting people riled up 574 00:36:22,520 --> 00:36:24,520 Speaker 1: and saying the things that a lot of people were 575 00:36:24,560 --> 00:36:29,080 Speaker 1: probably thinking but we're afraid to say. Yeah. Lubia says 576 00:36:29,120 --> 00:36:33,319 Speaker 1: that Norton made himself into an early champion of the 577 00:36:33,400 --> 00:36:36,600 Speaker 1: values of fairness and tolerance and the common good, and 578 00:36:36,680 --> 00:36:41,080 Speaker 1: this was a positive symbol for San Francisco. There are 579 00:36:41,160 --> 00:36:44,359 Speaker 1: some stories that exist that I feel kind of like 580 00:36:45,040 --> 00:36:48,360 Speaker 1: possible tall tales, such as the idea that Norton was 581 00:36:48,719 --> 00:36:53,440 Speaker 1: actively anti racist. One of the best examples of this, 582 00:36:53,600 --> 00:36:58,120 Speaker 1: again this is not confirmed, is that during one riot 583 00:36:58,360 --> 00:37:02,920 Speaker 1: where the white population of San Francisco was wreaking havoc 584 00:37:03,160 --> 00:37:08,319 Speaker 1: in the Chinese section of town, he put himself in 585 00:37:08,400 --> 00:37:11,359 Speaker 1: the line of fire between the two sides and just 586 00:37:11,520 --> 00:37:16,840 Speaker 1: loudly recited the Lord's prayer until people were amused and left. 587 00:37:17,280 --> 00:37:21,120 Speaker 1: But his his acts are also prescient. He did this 588 00:37:21,200 --> 00:37:23,680 Speaker 1: is something really interesting. This is something I'd love to 589 00:37:23,760 --> 00:37:26,880 Speaker 1: end this show with, because history, as William Faulkner says, 590 00:37:27,120 --> 00:37:30,640 Speaker 1: to paraphrase Faulkner, history is not over right. The past 591 00:37:30,680 --> 00:37:34,080 Speaker 1: does not even passed. One of his decrees was that 592 00:37:34,680 --> 00:37:39,680 Speaker 1: there must be a bridge joining San Francisco and Oakland, 593 00:37:40,200 --> 00:37:45,680 Speaker 1: and at the time, residents of San Francisco were kind 594 00:37:45,719 --> 00:37:50,640 Speaker 1: of concerned that Oakland might become the major economic hub 595 00:37:50,800 --> 00:37:53,720 Speaker 1: of the West because it might become the major rail hub. 596 00:37:54,239 --> 00:37:59,240 Speaker 1: The Bay bridge was actually completed in ninety six. Unlike 597 00:37:59,280 --> 00:38:04,080 Speaker 1: his predictions about Rice, Norton was correct about this bridge. 598 00:38:04,280 --> 00:38:08,160 Speaker 1: They built it exactly where he recommended it should be. 599 00:38:08,560 --> 00:38:11,120 Speaker 1: And to your earlier point about hipsters, I want to 600 00:38:11,160 --> 00:38:15,279 Speaker 1: add some fuel to that idea before people even use 601 00:38:15,360 --> 00:38:19,040 Speaker 1: the word hipster, before San Francisco became known as this 602 00:38:19,120 --> 00:38:23,760 Speaker 1: epicenter of eccentricity, like the phrase you could see Norton 603 00:38:23,960 --> 00:38:27,640 Speaker 1: riding round town on a fixed gear bicycle someone gave him. 604 00:38:27,640 --> 00:38:31,040 Speaker 1: He was writing, it's a little fixy, yeah, and uh. 605 00:38:31,080 --> 00:38:36,239 Speaker 1: He also would find people actively he would give people 606 00:38:36,239 --> 00:38:40,600 Speaker 1: a twenty five dollar fine if anyone ever called their 607 00:38:40,640 --> 00:38:44,799 Speaker 1: city Frisco instead of San Francisco, similar to you know, 608 00:38:44,880 --> 00:38:48,959 Speaker 1: people saying Hotlanta. Yeah, people also from San Francisco hate 609 00:38:48,960 --> 00:38:51,920 Speaker 1: it when you call it sf that's the worst. That 610 00:38:51,920 --> 00:38:54,200 Speaker 1: would probably be the modern equivalent of Frisco, which is 611 00:38:54,239 --> 00:38:58,480 Speaker 1: just like so passe that that people don't even utter it. Um. Yeah, 612 00:38:58,600 --> 00:39:02,279 Speaker 1: he was definitely an early to hipster um evangelists, you know. 613 00:39:02,360 --> 00:39:05,480 Speaker 1: And again back to my earlier point about him being 614 00:39:05,560 --> 00:39:09,160 Speaker 1: kind of this proto hippie, sort of like a defender 615 00:39:09,239 --> 00:39:14,280 Speaker 1: of the weirdness of San Francisco. I love it. But unfortunately, 616 00:39:15,120 --> 00:39:18,520 Speaker 1: in eighteen sixty seven there was a new regime in 617 00:39:18,600 --> 00:39:22,239 Speaker 1: place running the police force, and vagrancy became a real 618 00:39:22,320 --> 00:39:27,799 Speaker 1: priority or the elimination thereof a over zealous cop apparently 619 00:39:27,960 --> 00:39:30,000 Speaker 1: you know, trying to make a name for himself, not 620 00:39:30,200 --> 00:39:34,680 Speaker 1: knowing what the score was here, arrested the Emperor on 621 00:39:34,960 --> 00:39:40,240 Speaker 1: this charge of vagrancy, and the city's newspapers absolutely blasted 622 00:39:40,280 --> 00:39:43,480 Speaker 1: the guy, sighting Norton as being a local institution and 623 00:39:43,600 --> 00:39:47,120 Speaker 1: uh quote, since he has warned the Imperial Purple he 624 00:39:47,200 --> 00:39:51,759 Speaker 1: has shed no blood, robbed nobody, and despoiled the country 625 00:39:51,840 --> 00:39:54,080 Speaker 1: of no one, which is more than ken be said 626 00:39:54,120 --> 00:39:58,479 Speaker 1: for his fellows in that line. Uh, the police chief, 627 00:39:58,520 --> 00:40:01,600 Speaker 1: Patrick Crowley real lies that he had a pr nightmare 628 00:40:01,600 --> 00:40:03,840 Speaker 1: on his hand and he ordered it. Norton be released 629 00:40:04,120 --> 00:40:08,920 Speaker 1: and even issued a formal apology from the police force, 630 00:40:09,440 --> 00:40:12,120 Speaker 1: and his story continues. He's a real class act about it. 631 00:40:12,320 --> 00:40:15,000 Speaker 1: This guy is one of my favorite people. Just full disclosure, 632 00:40:15,200 --> 00:40:18,239 Speaker 1: and I'm gonna at the end recommend some excellent resources 633 00:40:18,280 --> 00:40:21,200 Speaker 1: to learn more about him. So when when this formal 634 00:40:21,239 --> 00:40:26,520 Speaker 1: apology occurs, how cool is this? The Emperor officially pardons 635 00:40:26,600 --> 00:40:29,839 Speaker 1: the policeman who arrested him, and then from then on, 636 00:40:29,960 --> 00:40:34,320 Speaker 1: from that point on, all law enforcement in the city 637 00:40:34,600 --> 00:40:37,480 Speaker 1: picks up this habit of just saluting the emperor when 638 00:40:37,480 --> 00:40:41,960 Speaker 1: they see him on the street. Uh, he didn't always 639 00:40:42,040 --> 00:40:46,040 Speaker 1: have these crazy days. And there's a big question. I'm 640 00:40:46,040 --> 00:40:48,720 Speaker 1: sure a lot of our fellow ridiculous historians are wondering. 641 00:40:49,200 --> 00:40:52,000 Speaker 1: It's a question we can answer. He was not homeless. 642 00:40:52,280 --> 00:40:55,040 Speaker 1: He was not sleeping rough in parks. He lived in 643 00:40:55,040 --> 00:40:57,440 Speaker 1: a rental. He had a rented room, you know, in 644 00:40:57,520 --> 00:41:01,160 Speaker 1: an in a building. And on his ridge days he 645 00:41:01,200 --> 00:41:03,399 Speaker 1: would just walk around, like we said, but he would 646 00:41:03,400 --> 00:41:07,800 Speaker 1: also play chess. He would go to various religious services. 647 00:41:08,080 --> 00:41:11,480 Speaker 1: He would spend a lot of time reading in libraries. 648 00:41:11,520 --> 00:41:14,840 Speaker 1: So he he had attained a sort of serenity and 649 00:41:15,000 --> 00:41:19,000 Speaker 1: peace and become a symbol of a fast growing city. 650 00:41:20,000 --> 00:41:25,000 Speaker 1: But he remained human, as all emperors and paupers are. 651 00:41:25,480 --> 00:41:31,239 Speaker 1: On January eight, he collapsed on the corner of California 652 00:41:31,280 --> 00:41:35,960 Speaker 1: and DuPont Streets. Uh. DuPont is now known as Grant Avenue. 653 00:41:36,360 --> 00:41:39,799 Speaker 1: He was going to watch a lecture at the California 654 00:41:39,840 --> 00:41:44,439 Speaker 1: Academy of Sciences. People are panicking because again people love 655 00:41:44,520 --> 00:41:48,400 Speaker 1: this guy. Uh, the police get him a ride to 656 00:41:48,840 --> 00:41:54,400 Speaker 1: the city receiving hospital. However, he dies before that carriage 657 00:41:54,480 --> 00:41:57,840 Speaker 1: can make the scene, and this is when people start 658 00:41:57,880 --> 00:42:02,160 Speaker 1: to pull back the screen. Authorities go to the room 659 00:42:02,200 --> 00:42:04,479 Speaker 1: where he's living in this boarding house, and they're able 660 00:42:04,520 --> 00:42:06,680 Speaker 1: to say, yeah, he wasn't living high on the hog. 661 00:42:07,160 --> 00:42:09,560 Speaker 1: He had about five bucks on him when he fell 662 00:42:09,600 --> 00:42:13,560 Speaker 1: in the streets, and they found a gold coin worth 663 00:42:13,560 --> 00:42:16,919 Speaker 1: about two dollars and fifty cents in his room, and 664 00:42:17,280 --> 00:42:19,879 Speaker 1: he had a bunch of hats and cats. He had 665 00:42:20,320 --> 00:42:23,920 Speaker 1: letters that he had written to Queen Victoria, and he 666 00:42:23,960 --> 00:42:29,960 Speaker 1: had a collection of walking sticks. But everybody, and now 667 00:42:30,040 --> 00:42:32,600 Speaker 1: not just people in San Francisco. All the papers of 668 00:42:32,640 --> 00:42:37,640 Speaker 1: note across the country are publishing the news, including the 669 00:42:37,680 --> 00:42:41,120 Speaker 1: New York Times. You're seeing these headlines that say stuff 670 00:42:41,160 --> 00:42:45,279 Speaker 1: like the king is dead and no citizen of San 671 00:42:45,320 --> 00:42:49,720 Speaker 1: Francisco has been taken away who would be more generally missed. 672 00:42:50,080 --> 00:42:53,480 Speaker 1: Somewhere between ten thousand to thirty thousand people turned up 673 00:42:53,480 --> 00:42:56,640 Speaker 1: at the funeral. Yeah, he was definitely beloved um and 674 00:42:56,640 --> 00:42:58,920 Speaker 1: and was this fixture. And it's almost kind of like 675 00:42:59,640 --> 00:43:04,279 Speaker 1: mass head of San Francisco and it's kind of burgeoning weirdness. 676 00:43:04,280 --> 00:43:06,439 Speaker 1: So it makes sense that he was embraced in that way. 677 00:43:06,440 --> 00:43:08,400 Speaker 1: But it does bring me back to, you know, the 678 00:43:08,440 --> 00:43:10,800 Speaker 1: circumstances of his death. So a little money in his pocket, 679 00:43:10,840 --> 00:43:12,799 Speaker 1: and you know that the you mentioned he had a 680 00:43:12,800 --> 00:43:14,960 Speaker 1: rental I've seen describe in a couple of places. It's 681 00:43:15,000 --> 00:43:17,839 Speaker 1: kind of like a dingy flop house, you know, like 682 00:43:18,040 --> 00:43:20,640 Speaker 1: very the lowest tier of rental, which I'm sure there 683 00:43:20,680 --> 00:43:22,919 Speaker 1: were quite a few of in that city at the time. 684 00:43:23,440 --> 00:43:26,879 Speaker 1: But there's a guy by the name of Joel Gazas 685 00:43:26,880 --> 00:43:30,040 Speaker 1: Sachs who is the president of the Depression and Bipolar 686 00:43:30,080 --> 00:43:33,759 Speaker 1: Support Alliance of South Orange County, and he's written a 687 00:43:33,800 --> 00:43:40,239 Speaker 1: couple of pieces where he kind of describes Norton's mental state. Uh. 688 00:43:40,360 --> 00:43:43,880 Speaker 1: In one essay he wrote called the Madness of Joshua Norton, 689 00:43:45,120 --> 00:43:47,480 Speaker 1: he has this to say. My guess is that Joshua 690 00:43:47,520 --> 00:43:50,480 Speaker 1: Norton suffered from major depression, which accounts for his neglect 691 00:43:50,520 --> 00:43:53,759 Speaker 1: of his person, his work, and other necessary aspects of 692 00:43:53,800 --> 00:43:56,080 Speaker 1: his life. He fought this using the mechanism of what 693 00:43:56,160 --> 00:44:00,320 Speaker 1: psychologists call a histrionic personality. By his dress, by his anners, 694 00:44:00,360 --> 00:44:03,160 Speaker 1: by his attendance and public gatherings and church services, and 695 00:44:03,200 --> 00:44:06,680 Speaker 1: by the publication of his proclamations and other documents in 696 00:44:06,719 --> 00:44:09,280 Speaker 1: the city's newspapers. He kept himself at the center of attention. 697 00:44:09,560 --> 00:44:11,960 Speaker 1: When he acted the role of the Emperor, people looked 698 00:44:12,000 --> 00:44:13,960 Speaker 1: at and listened to him, and he was able to 699 00:44:14,000 --> 00:44:16,960 Speaker 1: earn for himself a modest living. His stick enabled him 700 00:44:17,000 --> 00:44:19,919 Speaker 1: to keep going after the stunning defeats he suffered during 701 00:44:19,960 --> 00:44:24,360 Speaker 1: the eighteen fifties. It negated his pain. It's interesting to 702 00:44:24,440 --> 00:44:27,960 Speaker 1: say that because we should point out that while while 703 00:44:28,040 --> 00:44:31,520 Speaker 1: that exploration is in good faith and it is sincere 704 00:44:31,560 --> 00:44:36,160 Speaker 1: and it's well written, this author is not themselves a 705 00:44:36,280 --> 00:44:40,600 Speaker 1: psychiatrist nor a psychologist. And during Norton's life, uh, no 706 00:44:40,680 --> 00:44:44,760 Speaker 1: one did any kind of medical examination in that regard. 707 00:44:44,840 --> 00:44:48,920 Speaker 1: They just called him mad because it helped sell the story. 708 00:44:49,000 --> 00:44:53,000 Speaker 1: There's a there's another great article called His Majesty Psychosis 709 00:44:53,040 --> 00:44:57,000 Speaker 1: the Case of Emperor Joshua Norton by Eric Liss. You 710 00:44:57,040 --> 00:45:01,120 Speaker 1: can find this um. You can find this online. And 711 00:45:01,160 --> 00:45:04,759 Speaker 1: I think these are two things, two works that complement 712 00:45:05,160 --> 00:45:09,720 Speaker 1: each other very well, and I do recommend reading them. Also. 713 00:45:10,080 --> 00:45:14,120 Speaker 1: Gases Sachs wrote several pieces right, um in both in 714 00:45:15,320 --> 00:45:19,000 Speaker 1: the Madness of Joshua Norton, which you quoted, and Diagnosing Norton, 715 00:45:19,040 --> 00:45:22,640 Speaker 1: which is a shorter piece that sort of addresses what 716 00:45:22,680 --> 00:45:25,600 Speaker 1: people are talking about when they say Emperor Norton was 717 00:45:25,719 --> 00:45:27,920 Speaker 1: mentally ill. You can find both of these, by the way, 718 00:45:28,040 --> 00:45:32,120 Speaker 1: on the awesome resource Ember Norton trust dot org. Sure Canon. 719 00:45:32,200 --> 00:45:34,640 Speaker 1: Just to just to sew it up with with Sachs, 720 00:45:34,680 --> 00:45:37,520 Speaker 1: he openly acknowledges, you know that he is not a 721 00:45:37,520 --> 00:45:40,120 Speaker 1: psychologist or psychiatrist, and that what he's doing is just 722 00:45:40,160 --> 00:45:42,600 Speaker 1: sort of more of an exploration through the lens of 723 00:45:42,680 --> 00:45:46,239 Speaker 1: his expertise and background in depression, you know, just like 724 00:45:47,000 --> 00:45:51,000 Speaker 1: as a lame a lay person. And and it's quite 725 00:45:51,000 --> 00:45:55,080 Speaker 1: possible again because you know, in the defense of both 726 00:45:55,120 --> 00:45:59,280 Speaker 1: of these scholars, there was not a medical assessment at 727 00:45:59,360 --> 00:46:03,200 Speaker 1: his time, but he was he was very much beloved. 728 00:46:03,680 --> 00:46:08,080 Speaker 1: He was originally going to be buried in a potter's field, 729 00:46:08,239 --> 00:46:11,759 Speaker 1: right and a pauper's coffin, but a group of San 730 00:46:11,800 --> 00:46:15,759 Speaker 1: Francisco businessman called the Pacific Club said, you know what 731 00:46:15,960 --> 00:46:19,680 Speaker 1: we are going to pay for equality rosewood casket. The 732 00:46:19,719 --> 00:46:23,480 Speaker 1: funeral procession on January eight, where you know, I said, 733 00:46:23,480 --> 00:46:27,920 Speaker 1: somewhere between ten to thirty thousand people attended. That procession 734 00:46:28,120 --> 00:46:32,839 Speaker 1: was two miles long. He was buried in the Masonic Cemetery. Later, 735 00:46:33,160 --> 00:46:38,000 Speaker 1: much later, his casket gets moved to the Woodlawn Cemetery. 736 00:46:38,120 --> 00:46:43,400 Speaker 1: The entire Masonic Cemetery is relocated. Uh, about sixty thousand 737 00:46:43,480 --> 00:46:47,839 Speaker 1: people came just to see that internment. There's a new 738 00:46:47,880 --> 00:46:51,560 Speaker 1: tombstone that reads Norton, one emper of the United States 739 00:46:51,640 --> 00:46:56,600 Speaker 1: and of course protector of Mexico. And now, you know, 740 00:46:56,800 --> 00:47:00,799 Speaker 1: like like we said earlier, even today people kind of 741 00:47:00,840 --> 00:47:06,920 Speaker 1: debate over whether there was a genuine like delusion, histrionic personality, 742 00:47:07,000 --> 00:47:10,440 Speaker 1: major depression, or was it all just a tongue in 743 00:47:10,520 --> 00:47:16,239 Speaker 1: cheek hustle. It's I don't know, it's tough to it's 744 00:47:16,280 --> 00:47:19,440 Speaker 1: tough to guess, but there's there's no arguing that ultimately 745 00:47:19,520 --> 00:47:21,719 Speaker 1: he was good for the city, and it seems like 746 00:47:21,760 --> 00:47:23,839 Speaker 1: the city was good to him. Would you agree with that? 747 00:47:24,160 --> 00:47:28,359 Speaker 1: I would absolutely agree with that. And um he I 748 00:47:28,440 --> 00:47:32,120 Speaker 1: think was acting in good faith in an attempt to 749 00:47:32,520 --> 00:47:35,120 Speaker 1: be good for the country, and we have this really 750 00:47:35,160 --> 00:47:39,440 Speaker 1: cool timeline from thought co of his official acts as emperor. 751 00:47:39,640 --> 00:47:41,200 Speaker 1: I think that might be a fun way to wrap 752 00:47:41,280 --> 00:47:44,040 Speaker 1: this up. You want to round robin these bad boys, then, sure, 753 00:47:44,160 --> 00:47:48,560 Speaker 1: of course. October twelfth, eighteen fifty nine, like I mentioned earlier, 754 00:47:48,680 --> 00:47:51,680 Speaker 1: that's when he abolishes the U. S. Congress In December two, 755 00:47:51,800 --> 00:47:56,200 Speaker 1: eighteen fifty nine, a very early proclamation showing his his 756 00:47:56,320 --> 00:47:59,200 Speaker 1: kind of progressiveness. Um, he declared the Governor Henry Wise 757 00:47:59,200 --> 00:48:01,880 Speaker 1: of Virginia should leave the office for the execution of 758 00:48:01,920 --> 00:48:06,160 Speaker 1: abolitionist John Brown, and that John C. Breckinridge of Kentucky 759 00:48:06,440 --> 00:48:09,880 Speaker 1: be inaugurated in his place. Yes. And then, as we 760 00:48:10,040 --> 00:48:14,400 Speaker 1: mentioned again earlier, July six, eighteen sixty he dissolves the 761 00:48:14,520 --> 00:48:17,080 Speaker 1: United States of America. And this was, you know, a 762 00:48:17,160 --> 00:48:21,399 Speaker 1: move against because of Civil War tensions exactly. Uh. Then 763 00:48:21,440 --> 00:48:24,160 Speaker 1: we've got August twelfth of eighteen sixty nine, he dissolves 764 00:48:24,160 --> 00:48:27,200 Speaker 1: and abolished as the Democratic and Republican parties due to 765 00:48:27,520 --> 00:48:32,920 Speaker 1: party strife. And on March twenty three, eighteen seventy two, 766 00:48:33,200 --> 00:48:36,759 Speaker 1: there's another one we mentioned, Uh, he orders a suspension 767 00:48:36,800 --> 00:48:40,239 Speaker 1: bridge to be built a S A P from Oakland 768 00:48:40,239 --> 00:48:44,560 Speaker 1: Point to Goat Island and from there on to San Francisco, which, 769 00:48:44,560 --> 00:48:47,200 Speaker 1: as we know totally ended up happening. Then finally, September 770 00:48:47,239 --> 00:48:49,680 Speaker 1: twenty one, eighteen seventy two, he ordered a survey to 771 00:48:49,719 --> 00:48:52,160 Speaker 1: determine whether a bridge or a tunnel was the best 772 00:48:52,200 --> 00:48:55,279 Speaker 1: way to connect Oakland and San Francisco. Turns out they 773 00:48:55,280 --> 00:48:58,400 Speaker 1: went with the bridge. He's making moves, He's he is 774 00:48:58,480 --> 00:49:02,160 Speaker 1: making moves. If you want to learn more about Emperor Norton, 775 00:49:02,280 --> 00:49:07,200 Speaker 1: we have mentioned, of course, the Emperor Norton Trust dot org. Uh. 776 00:49:07,360 --> 00:49:10,279 Speaker 1: This guy will be familiar to any Discordians in the 777 00:49:10,320 --> 00:49:14,440 Speaker 1: audience because he is the patron saint of Discordians. And 778 00:49:14,560 --> 00:49:21,960 Speaker 1: now there are ongoing efforts by the Emperor Norton Trust 779 00:49:22,600 --> 00:49:26,200 Speaker 1: to read name the Bay Bridge, or at least part 780 00:49:26,239 --> 00:49:29,200 Speaker 1: of it for Emperor Norton, which I don't think is 781 00:49:29,239 --> 00:49:31,919 Speaker 1: asking too much. That's kind of cool, and it's sort 782 00:49:31,960 --> 00:49:35,920 Speaker 1: of immortalizes him, you know. It's more so it's sort 783 00:49:35,920 --> 00:49:37,759 Speaker 1: of like interstates, you know, where you'll have like the 784 00:49:37,800 --> 00:49:40,480 Speaker 1: official name of the interstate and then a subtitle with 785 00:49:40,560 --> 00:49:42,840 Speaker 1: a with a you know, like a nickname you know, 786 00:49:42,880 --> 00:49:44,880 Speaker 1: based on some historical figure or a person that was 787 00:49:44,920 --> 00:49:49,200 Speaker 1: responsible for, uh, the infrastructure. Uh. And And lastly, I 788 00:49:49,239 --> 00:49:53,600 Speaker 1: just want to say, if you go to some friends 789 00:49:53,600 --> 00:49:56,200 Speaker 1: to school. Uh, you can take a walking tour of 790 00:49:56,280 --> 00:49:58,600 Speaker 1: the life of Emperor Norton and you can find that 791 00:49:58,719 --> 00:50:01,480 Speaker 1: on Atlas Obscura. New map tracks the life of San 792 00:50:01,480 --> 00:50:05,840 Speaker 1: Francisco's Emperor Norton by Sarah Lascow, And there is a 793 00:50:05,960 --> 00:50:10,160 Speaker 1: Google doc embedded a Google map rather embedded, showing some 794 00:50:10,280 --> 00:50:14,080 Speaker 1: key points um of that that represented the kind of 795 00:50:14,120 --> 00:50:16,759 Speaker 1: trajectory of his life. And I don't have any plans 796 00:50:16,760 --> 00:50:19,520 Speaker 1: to go to San Francisco anytime soon, but I hope too, 797 00:50:19,560 --> 00:50:21,239 Speaker 1: and I when I do, I definitely am going to 798 00:50:21,280 --> 00:50:26,120 Speaker 1: do this. And one teaser, consider this the stinger on 799 00:50:26,200 --> 00:50:29,960 Speaker 1: the end of the episode. If this were a Marvel movie, 800 00:50:30,520 --> 00:50:33,800 Speaker 1: the stinger is this Emperor Norton is not the only 801 00:50:33,880 --> 00:50:38,600 Speaker 1: person in the US who one day just declared themselves royalty. 802 00:50:38,880 --> 00:50:42,279 Speaker 1: Those are stories for another day. But we hope you 803 00:50:42,480 --> 00:50:47,479 Speaker 1: enjoyed this exploration of San Francisco's Emperor as much as 804 00:50:47,560 --> 00:50:50,520 Speaker 1: the three of us did. Thank you, of course, to 805 00:50:50,560 --> 00:50:53,319 Speaker 1: the people of San Francisco. Thank you, of course to 806 00:50:53,640 --> 00:50:57,520 Speaker 1: Norton first of his name, the Emperor of the United States. 807 00:50:57,840 --> 00:51:01,839 Speaker 1: And UH, equally, just as importantly, thanks to our one 808 00:51:01,880 --> 00:51:05,640 Speaker 1: and only super producer Mr Max Williams, Maximilian, He's the 809 00:51:05,680 --> 00:51:08,120 Speaker 1: man Um. He can do all the things that no 810 00:51:08,160 --> 00:51:11,760 Speaker 1: one else can. That's how that goes um huge Thanks 811 00:51:11,800 --> 00:51:15,960 Speaker 1: to Max's brother, another one of our men Um, Alex Williams, 812 00:51:16,000 --> 00:51:18,160 Speaker 1: who composed this theme that you are hearing in your 813 00:51:18,160 --> 00:51:20,799 Speaker 1: your holes this very minute. And of course thanks to 814 00:51:20,960 --> 00:51:26,680 Speaker 1: our own mad Emperor of Quizzery Jonathan Strickland DK the Quister. 815 00:51:26,880 --> 00:51:30,200 Speaker 1: Thanks to Christoph Rossiotis, thanks to Eve's Jeff Coach. Thanks 816 00:51:30,200 --> 00:51:34,680 Speaker 1: to Eli Banks and Diana Brown of Ridiculous Romance. Do 817 00:51:34,880 --> 00:51:39,000 Speaker 1: check out their show. Uh It personally just tickles the 818 00:51:39,000 --> 00:51:49,000 Speaker 1: hell out of me. D See you next time, folks. 819 00:51:49,000 --> 00:51:51,120 Speaker 1: For more podcasts for my Heart Radio, visit the I 820 00:51:51,160 --> 00:51:54,080 Speaker 1: Heart Radio app, Apple podcast, or wherever you listen to 821 00:51:54,120 --> 00:51:55,040 Speaker 1: your favorite shows